The plan of the book is not a scientific one, if the term scientific is
understood to mean technical and anatomical. The purpose of the writer is to
give, in a popular and accessible form, knowledge which is accurate and
reliable about the life of our common birds. This knowledge has not been
collected from the stuffed carcasses of birds in museums, but gleaned afield.
In a word, these short narrative descriptions treat of the bird's
characteristics of size, color, and flight; its peculiarities of instinct and
temperament; its nest and home life; its choice of food; its songs; and of the
season in which we may expect it to play its part in the great panorama Nature
unfolds with faithful precision year after year. They are an attempt to make
the bird so live before the reader that, when seen out of doors, its
recognition shall be instant and cordial, like that given to a friend.
The coloring described in this book is sometimes more vivid than that found in
the works of some learned authorities whose conflicting testimony is often
sadly bewildering to the novice. In different parts of the country, and at
different seasons of the year, the plumage of some birds undergoes many
changes. The reader must remember, therefore, that the specimens examined and
described were not, as before stated, the faded ones in our museums, but live
birds in their fresh, spring plumage, studied afield.
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